I wanted to install and use the Google Now Launcher in my Moto E... But the fact is, After I set it all up, I have noticed 2 things:
a) It takes up a huge amount of RAM
b) The transition from the app drawer to the Home Screen is really, really choppy (laggy)
My question is : Is this a problem with my device or some problem related to the launcher itself?
(I have also used the Nova, Aviate and Apex Launchers before... But they have all been smooth like the stock Launcher)
Rohitagni said:
I wanted to install and use the Google Now Launcher in my Moto E... But the fact is, After I set it all up, I have noticed 2 things:
a) It takes up a huge amount of RAM
b) The transition from the app drawer to the Home Screen is really, really choppy (laggy)
My question is : Is this a problem with my device or some problem related to the launcher itself?
(I have also used the Nova, Aviate and Apex Launchers before... But they have all been smooth like the stock Launcher)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Install Link2SD app and move some apps to the SDCARD to free up space, then install the google launcher now, I did it and ran well, to make this you need rooted.
Google Search version 4.0 doesn't have this issue, as the transition from home screen to app drawer and vice versa is smooth. But the only catch is that, as Google Search version 4.0 is only released with Lollipop, installing it in 4.4 unrooted ROMs would make your OK Google search hotword not working anymore. So have to disable OK Google hotword or it keeps crashing. If you don't mind that, then its a prefect launcher.
More info: http://www.androidpolice.com/2014/1...p-developer-preview-apk-downloadinstructions/
ya those transitions are really laggy..but those will be fixed in lollipop.!
BUT WHERE IS THAT UPDATE MANNN..!!AM FRUSTRATED NOW
I am downloading Google Search v4... along with the L Launcher...
But the catch is, my phone is not rooted...
So I'll try and disable "Ok Google" and find out.
Thanks everyone
I am using google now launcher w/o OK google and average 450 mb free ram.No lags.
Related
Anyone else here try Nova Launcher on their ICS ROM? I'm having issues with adding widgets to the homescreen. Every time I try to do so, the launcher closes.
excellentnuke said:
Anyone else here try Nova Launcher on their ICS ROM? I'm having issues with adding widgets to the homescreen. Every time I try to do so, the launcher closes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep. Nova doesn't work when you try to add widgets. Not sure why, though it could be something to do with phone compatibility or the fact that Nova is currently optimized for Android 4.0.3. Until the devs are able to get 4.0.3 running, I think we're kind of SOL. It kind of sucks, but we'll be able to use it soon enough.
same. it is a bummer
Yeah even if you install it as a system app it still does the same thing FC on widgets. The stock 4.0.1 launcher is so laggy in comparision, but it's better than nothing. 4.0.2 - 4.0.3 seems to solve a lot of the transition issues that plagued 4.0.1.
Once we have aosp it'll probably work properly.
i'm running ineffibilis and i'm having no issues. trebuchet on the other hand...
On Nova beta 13, new apps' widgets don't appear in the locker unless I restart Nova. Existing widgets show fine. However, the new widgets show up fine in the widget picker, whether from launcher screen or switched from drawer mode. No FC yet for me.
I have tried this on both my Razr ICS and my gf's Galaxy Note ICS and it works.
On both phones, they are pretty fast until you start to install stuff.
After applying these, the phone is much smoother even with around 200 user apps.
1) Use Autokiller memory optimisation, root needed.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rs.autokiller&hl=en
This is a common method which android veterans already know, which is to change android's internal autokill values. This is not the same as task killers!
On both phones, I use "aggressive" preset.
For other tweaks like V8 supercharger, it's recommended values are closed to autokiller's "Extreme".
I added more tweaks to the post.
2) Turn on Force GPU rendering under developers mode. Most games and apps seem to work fine with it on.
3) Turn on background process limit to 4: I thought this is interesting (from JerseyFF) so I tried it out, seem good for daily use.
(update: after a while setting for this will revert to standard, there's no way to fix this yet)
4) Use Nova launcher. (root required for Motorola widgets)
The default launcher is smooth but it likes to reload every now and then (even with default autokill values). Tried Apex launcher but it's not as smooth as default launcher. Nova launcher is close to the default launcher which allow more tweaks and and yet it is buttery smooth. Do not update to beta though. I tried it and it's a lagfest.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.teslacoilsw.launcher&hl=en
VM heap size app no longer works after ICS update. If anyone knows how to fix that, please share.
Feel free to add any more tweaks or tips to make RAZR ICS better.
Is this at all somehow related to the Background Process Limit that is able to be set under Developer Options with ICS now?
It has a Standard Limit setting, No background processes, and At most 1 (through 4) processes for options.
Does anyone know what the value for Standard is?
In background process limit, it limits a number of background apps running, while the autokill values limit the number of bg apps running based on the amount of memory left, and killing off lower priority processes first.
The default values for background process limit is therefore "varies".
Sent from my XT910 using xda app-developers app
Updated first post with more tweaks.
This is my favorite launcher. Smooth... I am using it since I got the RAZR.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nemustech.launcher
Nikorasu said:
I have tried this on both my Razr ICS and my gf's Galaxy Note ICS and it works.
On both phones, they are pretty fast until you start to install stuff.
After applying these, the phone is much smoother even with around 200 user apps.
1) Use Autokiller memory optimisation, root needed.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rs.autokiller&hl=en
This is a common method which android veterans already know, which is to change android's internal autokill values. This is not the same as task killers!
On both phones, I use "aggressive" preset.
For other tweaks like V8 supercharger, it's recommended values are closed to autokiller's "Extreme".
I added more tweaks to the post.
2) Turn on Force GPU rendering under developers mode. Most games and apps seem to work fine with it on.
3) Turn on background process limit to 4: I thought this is interesting (from JerseyFF) so I tried it out, seem good for daily use.
4) Use Nova launcher. (root required for Motorola widgets)
The default launcher is smooth but it likes to reload every now and then (even with default autokill values). Tried Apex launcher but it's not as smooth as default launcher. Nova launcher is close to the default launcher which allow more tweaks and and yet it is buttery smooth. Do not update to beta though. I tried it and it's a lagfest.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.teslacoilsw.launcher&hl=en
VM heap size app no longer works after ICS update. If anyone knows how to fix that, please share.
Feel free to add any more tweaks or tips to make RAZR ICS better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow the auto killer is quite the find! Sped up my phone allot. Still running quite hot though
Thanks!
Thanks for the info, I'll confirm that upon bootup after applying the Aggressive setting, I tried scrolling around the Motoblur homescreen and thought it was smoother. But then the Superuser allowance for Autokiller kicked in right in the middle of me scrolling around and I noticed quite a difference in scrolling speed, it just suddenly got faster and smoother and the framerate looked as if it had increased by about 5 FPS. I also did tweaks #2 and 3 as well, but I think Autokiller makes the biggest difference. A good find for sure!
greyanaroth said:
Wow the auto killer is quite the find! Sped up my phone allot. Still running quite hot though
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use setcpu and create profiles to set cpu speed lower when screen off and when battery is overheating. There's a free, older ver on xda.
Also you can use juicedefender to make your 3g connection turn off when screen is off. This should also help keep your phone temp down when you're not using it. Note that it will turn itself on every few min to receive whatsapp, mms and emails etc. (not for whatsapp hoes)
Hi, thanks for your tips. I don't know what lag experience you experiment but I hope this works for my RAZR lags. What is happen to my RAZR is that when I enter to apps drawer, non of the icosns appear and instead the "loading circle" takes place until the apps appears. Also when I exit any app and go to home, none of the icons of widget appears, they take half second to reapper.
e-drian said:
Hi, thanks for your tips. I don't know what lag experience you experiment but I hope this works for my RAZR lags. What is happen to my RAZR is that when I enter to apps drawer, non of the icosns appear and instead the "loading circle" takes place until the apps appears. Also when I exit any app and go to home, none of the icons of widget appears, they take half second to reapper.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here!
Sent from my XT910 using xda app-developers app
e-drian said:
Hi, thanks for your tips. I don't know what lag experience you experiment but I hope this works for my RAZR lags. What is happen to my RAZR is that when I enter to apps drawer, non of the icosns appear and instead the "loading circle" takes place until the apps appears. Also when I exit any app and go to home, none of the icons of widget appears, they take half second to reapper.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's called redraw. Try using apex and there is an option for keeping the launcher in memory so it loads faster
Full-Throttle Team
moderator at bdhroms.freeforums.org
Nikorasu said:
4) Use Nova launcher. (root required for Motorola widgets)
The default launcher is smooth but it likes to reload every now and then (even with default autokill values). Tried Apex launcher but it's not as smooth as default launcher. Nova launcher is close to the default launcher which allow more tweaks and and yet it is buttery smooth. Do not update to beta though. I tried it and it's a lagfest.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How can you use Motorola widgets in Nova? I can't find this function.
aaatoel said:
How can you use Motorola widgets in Nova? I can't find this function.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Moto widgets only work on moto launcher
Full-Throttle Team
moderator at bdhroms.freeforums.org
aaatoel said:
How can you use Motorola widgets in Nova? I can't find this function.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I first installed Nova launcher, it asks for root access when going into widgets.
Try going to Nova settings ->Drawer-> Check Widgets in drawer (requires root permissions for system app)
Moto widgets like fav. contacts doesn't work well because I can't "pull down"... but it's there, including Motocast widget.
You may want to manually grant Nova launcher root access.
e-drian said:
Hi, thanks for your tips. I don't know what lag experience you experiment but I hope this works for my RAZR lags. What is happen to my RAZR is that when I enter to apps drawer, non of the icosns appear and instead the "loading circle" takes place until the apps appears. Also when I exit any app and go to home, none of the icons of widget appears, they take half second to reapper.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tudork said:
Same here!
Sent from my XT910 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is why I'm using Nova launcher instead. There's a free version, do try it. It may still take a while to load the app drawer icons after playing a game, but the 'redraw' for Nova's desktop pages are pretty fast. I also liked how it switched to a tablet version when I'm using Webtop mode.
Do try Apex as well. I didn't like it as it felt laggy when I'm scrolling my desktop pages few months back. It may have improved now and many users are complimenting it. As for myself, I have already bought Nova Prime and I'm sticking to it.
Does anyone use Google Now Launcher with this phone? If so has anyone noticed if it borks the HTC camera, taking away most of its features?
Noticed that right after installing the google launcher, cam was missing a lot of features. But i think you have to restart the phone after installation. Then all features appears. I Like the launcher or Nova etc... But hate the fact you can't have stock google lockscreen too. Sense lock screen with Google launcher does not look good.
robjbw said:
Noticed that right after installing the google launcher, cam was missing a lot of features. But i think you have to restart the phone after installation. Then all features appears. I Like the launcher or Nova etc... But hate the fact you can't have stock google lockscreen too. Sense lock screen with Google launcher does not look good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Someone on youtube posted the same issue. What you have to do to fix is remove the camera from the homescreen and replace it with the camera icon in the app drawer. For some reason that fixes it.
In playing with the G4 over the past few weeks, I've discovered some interesting things about launcher performance, so I thought I would share.
After using Google Now Launcher for several days, I began to notice that it was sometimes dropping frames and stuttering a bit much for my liking when swiping between screens. I switched back to the stock LG Home launcher and amazingly, scrolling was almost perfectly smooth with hardly any dropped frames.
Curious as to why this was, I began testing various launchers... Nova, Action Launcher, Apex Launcher, L Launcher, an AOSP launcher3 build from KitKat, etc. Finally, I noticed a pattern. Launchers based on the KitKat AOSP launcher source all ran very smoothly, while launchers based on the Lollipop AOSP launcher source all dropped frames too often when scrolling around the home screens and app drawers.
So from this, we can deduce two things:
1) The stock LG Home launcher is based on KitKat or earlier AOSP launcher source code. No surprise there.... just look at the page indicator dots, the app drawer background, and the three dot menu style in the app drawer. They all have KitKat styling.
2) LG optimized the G4 to run KitKat based launchers more smoothly since that's what their own launcher is.
So what can we do about it? Well, use an old version of your favorite launcher, of course. Action Launcher 2 is still available in the Play Store and has its own listing. I went with an old version of Nova (Classic v3.3 from http://novalauncher.com) and find it performs more smoothly than the newly released Nova v4. And not to fear, Nova v3.3 can still be configured to look and act like a Lollipop based launcher by changing a few settings. See my screenshots of Nova v3.3 below to see for yourself.
Hope all of you who are driven crazy by the slightest stutters find this information helpful. Let me know about your experiences.
Thanks for this. Will give it a try.
I was surviving with the stock launcher but went crazy after installing the tempered glass protector. After removing the glass all of my swipes or scrolls were being registered as taps.
Sent from my LG-H815
I too have been trying out the top 10 most know launchers in the playstore and have seen that issue as well compared to the stock launcher. What makes me go back to the stock launcher is two things. Health widget for step counter, and the smart notice widget.
wadamean said:
I too have been trying out the top 10 most know launchers in the playstore and have seen that issue as well compared to the stock launcher. What makes me go back to the stock launcher is two things. Health widget for step counter, and the smart notice widget.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know me too. How nice will be to add those into nova.
I'll be honest, I am running the latest Nova launcher and I haven't noticed any dropped frames or hiccups whatsoever. Everything seems buttery smooth.
Ken4G said:
I'll be honest, I am running the latest Nova launcher and I haven't noticed any dropped frames or hiccups whatsoever. Everything seems buttery smooth.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
apex is the smoothest launcher at the moment. nova ( i have the paid version ) is not that smooth like action launcher 3,
i'm only running apex for now
The app drawer and everything runs better , try and see yourself , you'll be impressed.
Great discovery. Nova and Google Now was always my go-to launcher but I have noticed frame drops. Very minimal, but I guess some of us are cursed to notice these things.
I always end up reverting to the stock launcher after awhile. I'll try the suggestion above and give Apex a run for a few days.
Also, anyone find it weird that some widgets like the default clock widget can't be used with other launchers?
Sent from my LG-H818
JustinDulay said:
Also, anyone find it weird that some widgets like the default clock widget can't be used with other launchers?
Sent from my LG-H818
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not weird at all, LG based widgets are baked into the LG launcher. Same thing happens with Samsung based widgets, can only use them on the TW launcher.
I'm using stock LG's launcher and it works very nice for me. I disabled Smart Bulletin option from settings and the launcher flies. With this feature enabled the launcher was getting laggy after a few hours of use ,now it's just perfect.
The only thing that drives me crazy about the Stock launcher is the lack of backgrounds for the icons. I like all my icons to feel somewhat uniform. I know the LG Launcher supports themes (basically icon packs)... but the Verizon model has this ripped out. I know it is accessible through some song and dance but the icon packs were pretty bare, only like 20 icons to cover the basics. Some custom packs have more but still barely cover the grand scheme of play store apps.
Overall good find though. I actually really like Action launcher 2 and run it on my tablets but I am unsure about on a smaller device I intend to use with 1 hand. I know you can setup swipes to pull open the drawer. At least we have options. I wonder if this happens on other devices, or just LG?
Very interesting to see that Lollipop based launchers stagger. Although KitKat was the best Android experience I ever had. Lollipop is fun but on the LG (or other skinned devices) the change is miniscule. KitKat ran like a beast on the G2 but started having problems when it upgraded to Lollipop.
I use KISS Launcher. No framerate loss there.
So, I was looking for a decent budget phone to act as a backup for my PXL 2XL. Was eying the red 6 GB, 128 GB for long and just got it yesterday.
Installed a P Launcher, and till now all looks good.
However, for the life of me, I am not able to turn on the google feed? I did go into the google app, and set "Yes" to the Show Feed option. But, nothing happens on the home screen.
What am I missing?
Which launcher are you using?
Try searching for rootless pixel launcher on XDA or ruthless launcher (non pixel)
You can use Lawnchair along with Lawnfeed from the Play Store. No root needed